Buzz
After Huawei, another Chinese smartphone brand has outpaced Apple in market share within this highly populated nation.
Apple has recently experienced a significant drop in iPhone sales in China, falling from the top spot to third place in the fourth quarter of 2024.
According to the latest report from Counterpoint Research, iPhone shipments in China dropped by 18.2% compared to the same period last year in the last quarter of 2024. This caused Apple's market share to shrink to 17.1%, falling behind Huawei at 18.1% and Xiaomi at 17.2%. This decline occurred just one year after Apple held the top spot with a 19% market share. It also marks the first time since the U.S. imposed sanctions on Huawei that Apple has been overtaken by a Chinese competitor.
The iPhone 16 has not been sufficient to revive Apple's market share in the Chinese smartphone market.
The reasons behind Apple's performance decline in China are attributed to several factors, including fierce competition from domestic brands and the inability to launch the Apple Intelligence feature in the market. While Apple Intelligence was introduced alongside the iPhone 16 in September 2024 in the U.S., the feature has yet to arrive in China due to regulatory restrictions. The company is said to be working with Chinese partners to roll out these features at a later date.
Meanwhile, Huawei's strong growth in Q4, increasing by 15.5% year-over-year, is largely credited to AI features in the flagship Mate 70 series and the mid-range Nova 13 series.
Notably, the Chinese smartphone market declined by 3.2% in Q4 2024 compared to the same period last year, marking the only quarter with negative growth during the year. Despite these setbacks, Apple maintained its position as the third-largest smartphone brand in China during this quarter, with sales on par with Xiaomi, which recorded a 17.2% market share.
The report highlights that the competition among tech giants in the world's largest smartphone market is becoming increasingly fierce. Apple will need to work harder to regain its position in the populous nation as local competitors make significant strides with innovative features and well-targeted product positioning.
